October 22, 2007

"Someday? I was reminded of those credit cards which come preapproved. I was pretty sure that Diane Keaton was preapproved for complicated, and still is. On a too-brief visit last weekend I had, for a glimmering moment, a sense that I was about to grasp what she was up to. But when she left, she took the glimmer with her, leaving me no closer to comprehending her agenda than I have been for the past twenty-eight years."Larry McMurtry effuses over his friend Diane Keaton... and her book "Clown Paintings":

There's nothing the fondest friend can do about the pain of clowns—pain, after all, is where their job starts. In working up to the book called Clown Paintings—it's filled with paintings of clowns—Diane called various of her friends who work in comedy to get their thoughts on clowns—and what she got was their permission to shove off. Woody Allen and Steve Martin and the others she lists "work in comedy," and comedy arises from pain, not from happiness. Perhaps the pain of clowns is a little more primal, which is one good reason for people who work in comedy to give clowns a pass.

My kind of bitch don't fix her hair She don't care about what she wears Cuz she's much too busy pulling the worms Out her butt, she ain't bathed in years

My kind of bitch, I'll never forget We forced met on a Oujia board Miss Crabber Damned, she would chew on snakes And swallow a ninja sword

I said, "hey bitch, how do you do? Some f*cks call me Violent J" She picked her nose and flicked it at me Smiled and was on her way, my kind of bitch

My kind of bitch My kind of bitch don't fix her hair She don't care about what she wears My kind of bitch don't fix her hair She don't care about what she wears F*ck that!

My kind of bitch has a hole in her neck And has to talk like this "I love you" She can drink through it, ya get used to it It whistle every time we kiss

My kind of bitch gots one good tittie The other one's skinny and red She can make the one jiggle The other one don't do shit but just sit their dead

My kind of bitch has a wooden eye With a nail sticking half way out It once caught a fire and we all had to spit In her face just to put it out (Insane Clown Posse, dedicated to Diane Keaton, My Kinda Bitch)

I was going to comment without reading the whole thing, and thought better of it. I was impressed by some of Keaton's observations, particularly on Corot's Portrait of a Girl. She seems so insightful, but then she veers wildly into the obvious and maudlin. ("Permanence can only be found in the immortality promised by the results of the click of a camera." !?) I think my previous impression of her as a ditz still holds. There's something there, but I have no way to evaluate it.

I never thought of Annie Hall (the character) as being a sweetie. I suspect my dislike for Keaton stems from my dislike of the character she so famously portrayed, and later appeared to be.

Koko can't find his hat, so he goes to the store and buys whips so he could whip the kids. He whips all of the kids living at his house if they aren't working to find his hat. Then his mom comes and starts yelling at him but when he gives her a whip they both start whipping the kids. Then the next door neighbor see's them and calls the cops. The first cop comes and helps them whip since it's a bad cop but then the neighbor calls again and the cops arrest all of them right when a kid finds his hat. Koko keeps his hat and goes to jail with the cop and his mom and the kids go to even worse guardians who make them pick wine grapes. As for Koko he had lighter fluid and poured it on his hat, light a match, put it on the hat, and ran out of jail. Koko was later found with his mom and the cop on the ground dead outside of a bar.(Koko the Clown, episode recap, the final countdown)

Larry McMurtry loves women. He really loves women, not just the way they make him feel. He finds beauty in all and doesn't become confused by the more obvious manifestations of sex appeal. Helps him write some of the best women in literature. He obviously loves Keaton. She sounds insipid as hell to me, however.

Pennywise: Hi-ya, Georgie! Arentcha gonna say... *hello*? George 'Georgie' Elmer Denbrough: [shakes head] Pennywise: Awww, whatsa matter Georgie? Doncha want a... balloon? George 'Georgie' Elmer Denbrough: My daddy told me never to take stuff from strangers. Pennywise: Very wise of ya dad, Georgie - very wise indeed. But *I* am Pennywise the Dancin Clown- and you're Georgie! So now we know eachotha! George 'Georgie' Elmer Denbrough: How do I know that you are the Dancin ClownPennywise: Because I wear men's clothes and like to have sex with nebbishy child molestors to advance my career.George 'Georgie' Elmer Denbrough: Well you could just be Natasha Kiniski in a sweat suit.Pennywise: Come here boy before I introduce you to Maxine, the only person I know whose makeup I admire, you don't want to end up in her cluthes.George 'Georgie' Elmer Denbrough:Mommy, MOMMMY, MOMMMMMMMMMY!!!!!!!(Stephen Kings It, TV Movie 1990)

Anyway, clowns? Clowns?Hasn't that motif been beaten into the ground? What is there left to expound upon regarding clowns? Okay, perhaps there is not yet a thesis on Clowns Showing the Violence Inherent in the System.

Is that the one where a painting comes to life and Roddy McDowell watches as a zombie digs his way out of a grave (in the painting) and then comes up the driveway and then comes in the front door and then and then and then.....Aaaaaaaaaa!

She played a nurse in that episode. I didn't think she did much of an acting job.

Now, that episode with Joan Crawford as the rich blind woman....now that was some good acting....

"Posting your gripes about the wealthy while a beautiful town burns is beyond pathetic. I'm not wealthy but am currently evacuated from my Castaic home and can tell you wildfire does not discriminate. "

(Not written by Maxine, who sees race and social strata in every situation !)

While we're crying our eyes out for the rich and famous, I ask that any of us here who are inclined to pray, please do so. There are actually a whole lot of regular folks fleeing for their lives, and at risk of losing everything. The elderly parents of one of my colleagues evacuated last night. I know firsthand from the experiences here in NOLA over these past two years how hard disaster is on the old folks. Many of them won't recover after losing their homes.

I'm reminded of "A Cotton Candy Autopsy" from the comic book series "Beautiful Stories for Ugly Children" by Dave Loupare and Dan Sweetman.

Not so much a comic book but a parody of the children's illustrated storybook, but meant for a mature audience.

"A Cotton Candy Autopsy" was the story from the first issue. It was about a bunch of clowns who torch the big top, steal a car, and go on a crime spree while on the run...

From the opening pages:

"The circus was burning.

"It was me, Bingo, Foo Foo, and Joey Punchinello from the street. Foo Foo stole the keys to the Dart while Bingo grabbed Addy the Freaklady and some of our best pups. I got the booze out the ringmaster’s trailer when he was watching the big-top burn. Joey Punchinello just lay low. Everyone knew he was always wiser to things than he was saying, like when that midget got drowned in the horse trough last winter.

"We figured we’d go ‘til either the gas or money ran out, and if we could, swing back for Bingo’s gig in the suburbs next day. Whatever.

"Not a damned thing about the fire on the radio so we blasted the tunes and shot west doin’ 95, teasing the dogs and taking turns with Addy. In the back seat, she was anybody’s freak."

HDHouse: "Taking cheap shots at people isn't of much value. Further, it makes the "shooter" look silly and pathetic. She may not be your cup of tea as an actress but someone saw something in her skills and she has done rather well. But why the snide remarks? Do you feel compelled to do that so you feel better about yourself? It somehow boosts your ego? Why?"

Is that aimed at me? My post is composed almost entirely of Larry McMurtry quotes. I think I'm making fun of McMurtry with his own words.

BTW, back in 1980, I bought my first SLR camera in Manhattan and Diane Keaton was at the counter buying some equipment right alongside me. I wouldn't have recognized her. She was completely nondescript and unglamorous. But the store guy wanted me to know it was her.